So I bought a hold-me-over-'til-the-Mach-is-done car...

DarkBuddha

Founding Member
Dec 11, 2001
2,215
1
47
Seattle & Tampa
Please excuse this cross post if you seen it on another forum already, but I'm pretty psych'd. With the Mach in limbo because of lack of time and access (I'm in Seattle, it's in Tampa), I decided that it's impossible to turn wrenches 3000 miles away. And since my wife and I have been sharing one car, her soul-less '03 Corolla and her '92 Corolla before that, for the last 7 years, I lost my crap and went and bought another "enthusiast" car.

Specifically, I bought an 1989 Merkur XR4ti. 2.3 turbo (non intercooled version of the SVO Mustang motor), 175hp, 5 speed, IRS, leather interior, etc. The kicker was that it only had 59000 original miles (documented), and it had only been driven 3500 miles in the last 9 years. It even came with a K&N filter, full 3" exhaust, a new clutch, and new Goodyears. And I got all the documenation, owners manuals, service records, service manuals, magazine articles, etc. All for $1200.

The strange thing was the guy wasn't even selling it... I just knocked on the door and asked. Turns out he's primarily a Land Rover enthusiast, but he's got a '02 Viper and a couple R model Volvos. I found out about the Viper when I noticed the huge turbo and 10 pistons sitting on his bookshelves in his office. Can you say 800hp!

Anyway, I'm pretty psych'd about this little car, and I've got some fun low budget plans for it, including an intercooler and ECU upgrade. I should be able to get it to 220hp without much effort really. Here are some pics for your amusement:

http://img116.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=asfoundresized2hq.jpg
 
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You know, I did that about a year ago when I bought a 73 Fastback. Now I have two project cars in pieces... What was I thinking??? I did have fun driving it for a few weeks though... :rolleyes: LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE and don't get too involved in trying to build two cars at the same time! Actually, I think my truck needs a paint job too, maybe I will take the moldings off it, weld the holes shut, fix the dents on it, and---oh wait, there I go again... :D
 
Max Power said:
Fun to drive, funny looking as hell. My dad had one of those turbo Merkurs. I remember a fair amount of lag.

$1200 seems like a deal to me!

an intercooler amd bigger turbo will fix that!

nice going DB, but don't get too hooked up on it 'til the stang is finished. just driver the merkur until you get the stang home and driveable and then you can play with the merkur all you want
 
bnickel said:
nice going DB, but don't get too hooked up on it 'til the stang is finished. just driver the merkur until you get the stang home and driveable and then you can play with the merkur all you want
I'm thinking the same thing... just clean it up a bit, collect parts as the come along, but no high effort or big money stuff until the Mach is done.:nice:
 
Hey Buddha; it's a shame to leave the Mach just sitting there lonely an all, send me the keys and I'll park it beside my Ragtop, it will be much happier here on the Cape:D , I'll even lay down a nice shag rug for it in the garage:D
 
WORTH said:
Hey Buddha; it's a shame to leave the Mach just sitting there lonely an all, send me the keys and I'll park it beside my Ragtop, it will be much happier here on the Cape:D , I'll even lay down a nice shag rug for it in the garage:D
Uh, what's that saying??? Oh yeah... OVER MY DEAD BODY! :mad: :D

Seriously though, the Mach is still my priority... I was just so damn tired of driving my wife's soul-less Corolla. There was not ritual or spirit in the car at all. I always drove it at 9/10 and even then it was just plain boring and slow. It was time to find something to have a bit more fun with is all.:nice:
 
DarkBuddha said:
Uh, what's that saying??? Oh yeah... OVER MY DEAD BODY! :mad: :D

Seriously though, the Mach is still my priority... I was just so damn tired of driving my wife's soul-less Corolla. There was not ritual or spirit in the car at all. I always drove it at 9/10 and even then it was just plain boring and slow. It was time to find something to have a bit more fun with is all.:nice:

Well if you feel you must kill yourself first I wont try and stop you, but don't you think that's a wee bit extreem?:D